THE COMMON DOG FISH. 



4G3 



i>oa risB saes. 



men, and on persona bathing in the sea. As, however, they ar« 

 smaller and more weak than most other Sharks, they do not attack 

 their more exposed enemies by open force. In combating them, it ia 

 necessary to have recourse to stratagem. They consequently, for thia 

 purpose, conceal themselves in mud, and lie in ambush, like the Hays, 

 until they have an opportunity of acting offensively with success. 

 Their usual food consists of fish and other marine animals, of which 

 they destrov immense numbers. 



Their flesh is hard and disagreeable to the taste, diflEuaing also a 

 jitrong odor, which somewhat resembles that of musk. Their dried 

 skins constitute the well-known article of commerce called shagreen^ 

 or the skin of the Dog-fish. The small and hard tubercles with which 

 these are covered, render them useful in the polishing of wood, ivory 

 and even of iron. 



